Over 100,000 repatriated military firearms, including M1 Garands and 1911 handguns, are now available for purchase via the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) thanks to President Donald Trump.
The CMP allows average Americans to acquire approved surplus military firearms. The NRA Shooting Sports USA reports the CMP was launched in 1996 under the auspices of the Corporation for the Promotion of Rifle Practice and Firearms Safety. At that time, “the Army transferred remaining stocks of surplus firearms and ammunition … [for the] CMP to sell for income in supporting itself.” The current sale of Garands and 1911s occurs with the anticipation of providing a significant financial boost to the CMP.
Of the weapons currently available, approximately 98,000 are Garands. The Secretary of the Army has only released roughly 8,000 of the 1911 handguns for sale, but there are many more to come.
On November 24, 2017, Breitbart News reported that Trump was preparing to sign the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act, which contained an amendment freeing up thousands of surplus military handguns for civilian purchase. This allows average Americans to exercise their Second Amendment rights while acquiring a piece of military history. It also allows the military to save money as the storage costs for the estimated 100,000 surplus pistols is about two dollars per pistol per day.
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News, the host of the Breitbart podcast Bullets, and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. Sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.
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